Daniel Greene

Tag: holiday

  • We’re not afraid to say it: Happy Chanukah!

    Our home’s chanukiah (the proper term for a Chanukah menorah) on the first night of Chanukah. It’s displayed prominently in the front kitchen window, facing the street.

    The title of this photo is a reference to some Christian people’s response to secularism, in particular, a BBQ restaurant sign in Nashville, TN I photographed that said, "We’re not afraid to say it: Merry Christmas!"

    By the way, those are multicolored LED Christmas lights reflecting off the chrome of the chanukiah. We are an "interfaith" couple; besides, I grew up celebrating Christmas in a secular or, let’s be honest about it, pagan way. What’s all the fuss about anyway, folks? Don’t know know why Christmas, Chanukah, and Ramadan are all around the same time? They are religious overlays to a pagan foundation of celebrating the winter solstice! If you ask me, we’re all just trying to cheer ourselves up by lighting candles, stringing lights, and giving gifts at this, the darkest and coldest time of the year.

  • Andy and Me on Thanksgiving

    Andy and Me on Thanksgiving, originally uploaded by danielgreene.

    Andy & I went with my dad to Thanksgiving at the Phoenician this year.

  • Busy Rehearsing for Yom Kippur

    I haven’t had any spare time to blog this week, because I’m spending my spare time rehearsing the Kol Nidre song and the Isaiah haftarah for Yom Kippur services this Sunday evening and Monday morning.

    I first learned to read Hebrew at the age of 32, and I first learned torah and haftarah trope for my bar mitzvah at the age of 33. I read my first haftarah for Yom Kippur mincha service (Jonah) when I was 33, my second haftarah for Yom Kippur morning service (a selection from Isaiah) at 36, and my third haftarah for Yom Kippur morning service (the entire Isaiah haftarah) at 37.

    I am a bit out-of-practice since I don’t read Hebrew every day, and I haven’t seriously chanted trope since the time I chanted the Isaiah haftarah for my synagogue two years ago. This makes for a lot of cramming, and I have a tendency to put things off!

    Perhaps when I am done rehearsing and performing the Kol Nidre and Haftarah, I will publish audio or video of it, but I’m not sure whether or not that’s appropriate.

    Anyway, forgive my absence, and if you observe Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I wish you L’shanah tovah tikateivu v’tehateimu!

  • Happy Labor Day!

    Happy Labor Day!

    Happy Labor Day!
    Originally uploaded by danielgreene.

    Today, I partook of an American custom– the Labor Day Pool Party. This year, my partner and I bracketed our summer with a Memorial Day pool party and a Labor Day pool party at the same house. It was fun. Hope you had fun too!

  • Love Song for Husband on YouTube

    In commemoration of our two-year wedding anniversary, I published a video of myself singing a song I wrote for Andy last Valentine’s Day. (I put this on YouTube on our anniversary, August 8, but I’m just getting around to blogging about it here now.)